From a Noh Othello that puts Desdemona centre stage to a requiem for a family killed in the Rwandan genocide, the theatre at this year’s festival gives voice to the marginalised

When Willem Dafoe took over at the creative helm of the Venice theatre biennale last year, he shaped the programme around his own passions. Dafoe selected experimental theatre companies that had influenced him as a young actor and took to the stage for an arcane and rather mannered two-hander by Richard Foreman which involved the declaiming of non-sequitur notes from a series of index cards. It all seemed less avant garde, more nostalgic.

This year, the 54th edition, is thankfully very different. Dafoe’s programme is broad and outward looking, with genuine cultural range and an interesting fusion of theatrical traditions. The lineup stretches from Europe to Indonesia (Yusril Katil’s Under the Volcano, among other productions) and India (Sharmila Biswas’s Mischief Dance). There is a flamboyant hybridity to shows such as Satoshi Miyagi’s Mugen Noh Othello, which melds Noh with Shakespeare, and Christos Stergioglou and Alex Drakos Ktistakis’ Cries, which combines physical theatre with musical storytelling, and contemporary themes with ancient Greek drama.

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In a career spanning five decades, he was best known for the ITV current affairs programme The Cook Report

The investigative journalist Roger Cook, best known for the current affairs programme The Cook Report, has died aged 83, his family said in a statement.

A statement from ITV on Monday said: “In a career spanning an incredible five decades, Roger Cook’s ground-breaking approach to investigative journalism made him one of broadcasting’s most trusted and respected figures.

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Oasis and Elbow have soundtracked Burnham’s byelection campaign and he got Liam Gallagher doing Manchester’s tram announcements. Will he keep banging the drum for music if he reaches Westminster?

First came Andy Burnham’s Makerfield byelection campaign launch video, with the Greater Manchester mayor stomping down red-brick streets soundtracked by homegrown stars Oasis, Elbow and James. Then came the eye-catching, northern soul-influenced campaign logo: Change Labour, Keep the Faith. And this week, it is not just pubs and clubs but music venues that would be part of Burnham’s proposed business rates cut.

As he looks to return to Westminster then make a bid for party leadership, music is part of Brand Burnham in a way that is unusual for a mainstream politician, in a campaign where he has pitched “Manchesterism” as the solution to Britain’s woes. But it is a policy platform that can be as vague and vibes-based as a Noel Gallagher verse. How does the Mayor’s love affair with Manchester’s music industry shine a light not just on “Manchesterism”, but the man behind it?

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I became a fan of this team to connect with my father. Their NBA championship does not erase the heartbreaks and hurt of the past – it completes the journey

Do you know what you want your last thought to be? I have waited my whole life for mine.

Most people, I imagine, don’t choose theirs. They arrive at the end and find loved ones’ faces gathered around their bed. Their subconscious gifts them the sound of their child’s laugh, or the memory of their wedding day rises from the dark like a lantern, unbidden. The mind, in its final kindness, selects for them. But I decided long ago that I would not leave that to chance. I decided, the way you decide anything important, deliberately and a little defiantly, the way I have decided most things in my life.

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The latest in our series of writers calling attention to their go-to mood-lifting films is a celebration of Cameron Crowe’s unconventional romantic comedy

The first time I encountered Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, I was home from film school for the summer, trying to refine my taste and figure out what I was “into”. One afternoon, I pressed play on Jerry Maguire, thinking I’d while away some lazy hours with a silly Hollywood picture. But the movie was a jolt to my numbed senses. It was obvious: Jerry Maguire was what I was into. It was a thrilling epiphany, if also a little disappointing. I wanted to be sophisticated, and yet the truth was that I liked … schmaltzy romcoms.

Even as my taste matured and expanded, I kept returning to Jerry Maguire. Its feelgood nature is baked into the premise: Jerry (an electrifying Tom Cruise) is an indefatigable sports agent who overcomes both personal and professional challenges in the path to fulfillment. But the real reason why it makes you feel good is that Jerry’s arduous path transforms him. He doesn’t fall in love with Renee Zellweger’s Dorothy Boyd until they’ve already married and separated; there is no honeymoon-phase montage. The film’s romcom reputation can probably be attributed to its emotional climax: Jerry’s tear-jerking, glorious win-her-back speech, which introduced the phrases “you complete me” and “you had me at hello” to the cultural lexicon. In a traditional romcom, in which marriage is often the coveted conclusion, this moment would precede the wedding.

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We go behind the scenes at rehearsals for William Kentridge’s new staging of Monteverdi’s 1607 opera l’Orfeo

‘L’Orfeo is an opera about opera. It’s an opera about the power of music. It’s about the power of art to construct the world,” says director and artist William Kentridge. Claudio Monteverdi’s 1607 work is, if not quite the first ever opera, the earliest opera still performed today, written when the form was in its very infancy.

Monteverdi called his work – composed for performance at the ducal court of Mantua, a “favola in musica – legend in music”. “Monteverdi was a genius,” says conductor Jonathan Cohen. “The piece is about the world’s most famous musician. He begins with a prologue where he has the allegorical character of La Musica [Music, here sung by Francesca Aspromonte, who also sings Eurydice in this production], who says ‘I am music, and I have the power to stop the birds singing, the power over nature.’ And of course Orfeo, the musician, has the power to control even the rocks, the trees, the animals and effect human emotions.”

William Kentridge (centre) during rehearsals, above, and, below, Kentridge talks with Francesca Aspromonte (La Musica/Euridice) and Roseline Wilkens (Euridice)

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Gareth Southgate was looking to the future when he dropped midfielder but, as Jude Bellingham says, the veteran’s influence is indispensable

The cat is well truly out of the bag. Nobody expected the conversation to be quite so revealing when Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers sat on the Lions’ Den sofa last week. Content controlled by the Football Association was an unlikely place for Bellingham to drop a few truth bombs, but the England midfielder was not minded to hold back when it was time to discuss his experience at Euro 2024.

“It didn’t feel like there was any kind of hierarchy,” the 22-year-old said. “I think at the Euros we got some things a little bit wrong off the pitch. I don’t feel like the group connected as well as it could have – for a number of reasons.”

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Voormalig OMT-lid Diederik Gommers zei dat hij ruzie had met toenmalig premier Mark Rutte en zorgminister Hugo de Jonge over het meenemen van iemands leeftijd in het geval er keuzes moesten worden gemaakt over wie op de intensive care kon worden opgenomen. "Ik heb gezegd dat zij daar niet over gingen."

De arts van het Rotterdamse Erasmus MC zei tijdens een verhoor van de parlementaire enquête over het coronavirus dat "het echt knetterde in het Catshuis". Rutte en De Jonge vonden het onacceptabel dat iemands leeftijd meegenomen zou worden indien er een keuze moest worden gemaakt wie op de ic kon worden opgenomen, zogeheten triage.

"Leeftijd wordt altijd meegenomen", aldus Gommers. Volgens de arts wordt een ic-opname altijd beoordeeld op de levensverwachting en overlevingskans. "Wij maken die keuzes naar eer en geweten. Laat het aan de professionals."

Uiteindelijk werd de leeftijdsgrens van 80 jaar uit het protocol voor triage gehaald. Onder meer na maatschappelijke druk en vragen uit de Tweede Kamer.

Je loopt ’s ochtends fris het kantoor binnen en tegen het einde van de middag zie je er vermoeid uit. Droge huid, branderige ogen, een zeurderige hoofdpijn of plots veel niezen. Veel mensen schuiven dat af op stress of een slechte nacht. Maar volgens experts heeft de ruimte waarin je werkt meer invloed dan je denkt.

En nee: dat zit niet per definitie tussen je oren. Op sociale media gaat het fenomeen rond onder de naam 'office air': het zijn vooral vrouwen die ervan overtuigd zijn dat de lucht op kantoor hen letterlijk slechter laat voelen en eruit laat zien.

Wetenschappelijk bewezen is die term niet, maar dat onze werkomgeving effect heeft op hoe we ons voelen, staat volgens professor arbeidsgeneeskunde Ben Nemery (UZ Leuven) niet ter discussie. “Je kan allerlei ziekten of ongemakken krijgen die te maken hebben met waar je woont of werkt”, zegt hij in HLN.

Het gebouw is het probleem, niet per se jij

Volgens Nemery kunnen gebouwen infecties verspreiden, allergieën uitlokken en bestaande klachten verergeren. Maar er bestaat nóg een categorie: sick building syndrome.

“Het gaat om een geheel van klachten dat ontstaat bij meerdere mensen die samen in hetzelfde gebouw verblijven. Dat collectieve aspect is essentieel: je kan het niet vaststellen op basis van één persoon. Tegelijk hoeft ook niet iedereen in het gebouw klachten te hebben. De symptomen zijn meestal niet ernstig of levensbedreigend, maar daarom niet minder echt.”

Opvallend is hoe snel de klachten komen en weer verdwijnen. “Werknemers komen binnen en beginnen vrijwel meteen te hoesten of voelen zich onwel. Zodra ze een raam openen, buiten gaan lunchen of naar huis vertrekken, verdwijnen de klachten vaak even snel weer.” Dat snelle omslaan onderscheidt het volgens hem van aandoeningen zoals astma.

Waarom vooral vrouwen klachten meldden

Een opvallende observatie uit onderzoek naar sick building syndrome in de jaren tachtig: vrouwen rapporteerden vaker klachten dan mannen. “Dat had waarschijnlijk meer met gender te maken dan met hun geslacht”, vertelt Nemery.

“Vrouwen hadden destijds vaker minder interessante jobs en zaten lager in de hiërarchie. Sommigen werkten de hele dag aan kopieermachines, waar veel stof en warmte vrijkwamen. De klachten hingen dus vaak samen met een combinatie van luchtkwaliteit, werkdruk en psychosociale factoren.”

Dit raakt aan iets wat vandaag nog herkenbaar is: niet alleen de luchtkwaliteit, maar ook de mate van controle over je werkplek speelt mee.

De onverwachte boosdoeners op kantoor

Volgens Nemery ontstaat een ongezond binnenklimaat vaak door een optelsom:

- droge of slecht circulerende lucht

- te veel mensen op één ruimte

- hoge CO₂-concentraties

- warmte van computers en apparatuur

- schoonmaakmiddelen die in de lucht blijven hangen

- geuren van cosmetica, deodorant en lichaamsgeuren

- fel licht en weinig invloed op ventilatie

“Ook in moderne landschapskantoren zitten mensen dicht bij elkaar en is er vaak slechte binnenlucht door verschillende factoren”, weet Nemery. Zelfs als metingen niets afwijkends laten zien, kunnen klachten reëel zijn. “‘Het zit tussen de oren’ is te simplistisch: voor een deel spelen stress en beleving inderdaad mee, maar dat betekent niet dat de klachten niet echt zijn.”

Bron: HLN

DEN HAAG (ANP/AFP) - Wereldwijd wordt de aangekondigde raamovereenkomst voor een duurzaam staakt-het-vuren tussen de Verenigde Staten en Iran positief ontvangen. Onder meer landen in de regio spreken hun steun uit voor het vrijdag te tekenen document.

Saudi-Arabië benadrukt maandag dat het een stap voorwaarts is, maar dat in de eropvolgende onderhandelingen over een definitief akkoord de belangen van landen in de regio niet mogen worden vergeten, zoals de richtlijn dat staten zich niet mengen in elkaars binnenlandse betrekkingen.

China complimenteerde Pakistan, dat zich heeft opgeworpen als bemiddelaar tussen Iran en de VS en onder meer als tussenpartij geldt voor indirecte gesprekken tussen de strijdende partijen. Ook zegt Beijing te hopen dat het vrachtverkeer door de Straat van Hormuz zo spoedig mogelijk hervat kan worden.

Egypte, dat eveneens heeft geprobeerd op te treden als bemiddelaar, sprak op zijn beurt van een mogelijk "keerpunt" voor de regio.

TEHERAN (ANP/RTR) - Iran vindt dat de Verenigde Staten ervoor verantwoordelijk zijn dat Israël zijn aanvallen op Libanon beëindigt. De VS en Iran hebben een deal gesloten die ook Libanon omvat, maar Israël was geen partij bij de overeenkomst en is in elk geval niet van plan zijn troepen uit Libanon terug te trekken.

De Iraanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Abbas Araghchi heeft er in gesprek met zijn Turkse, Iraakse, Egyptische, Japanse en Saudische ambtgenoten op gehamerd dat de Israëlische aanvallen volledig moeten stoppen, schrijft hij op Telegram.

Libanese staatsmedia meldden ook na de aankondiging van de deal nog Israëlische luchtaanvallen, waarbij meerdere mensen gewond zouden zijn geraakt. De autoriteiten hebben burgers gewaarschuwd niet direct terug te keren naar hun huizen in het zuiden van het land die ze zijn ontvlucht.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Het was "achteraf een slechte keuze" van het kabinet om de ziekenhuizen te laten vollopen tijdens de tweede coronagolf, voordat strengere maatregelen werden genomen. Dat zei IC-arts Diederik Gommers tijdens een verhoor van de parlementaire enquêtecommissie.

Als lid van het Outbreak Management Team (OMT) gaf Gommers het kabinet regelmatig advies over de aanpak van het coronavirus. "Wij werden onrustig, omdat we het idee hadden dat we achter de feiten aanliepen." Het was volgens Gommers nodig om eerder in te grijpen.

In september 2020 liep het aantal besmettingen met het coronavirus snel op, maar de ziekenhuizen stonden nog niet onder druk. "In mijn ogen had het kabinet de keuze gemaakt om het virus langer rond te laten gaan, totdat de ziekenhuizen volliepen." Volgens de arts van het Rotterdamse Erasmus MC was het de bedoeling om in het begin harder in te grijpen "in de hoop dat je er snel vanaf bent". Nu lagen de IC's met ongeveer achthonderd patiënten vol tot eind april 2021.

Met regelmatig regen, wind en een bescheiden temperatuur is de zomerliefhebber de afgelopen tijd niet verwend. Maar daar komt verandering in! De komende dagen gaat de temperatuur flink oplopen en dat gaan we goed merken, met vrijdag tropische temperaturen.

The UK government is preparing to kick under-16s off social media and clamp down on a range of online features aimed at children, declaring that Big Tech has had its chance to police itself and failed. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans on Monday to ban under-16s from social media as part of a package that also includes new restrictions on livestreaming, stranger contact, disappearing messages, and AI companion chatbots. The legislation is expected to be introduced before Parliament's Christmas recess, with the new rules due to take effect in spring 2027. "Parents want to keep their kids safe and happy, but the online world has made that harder than ever," Starmer said. "I've heard firsthand from families crying out for change and we will do right by them." The prime minister reserved his sharpest criticism for the technology industry. "This is a line in the sand," he said. "Tech giants had their chance and failed, but we're stepping in to protect children, back parents, and set a new normal for future generations." The government is pitching the move as a direct response to parental concerns. According to its Growing Up in an Online World consultation, 91 percent of parents who responded supported a minimum age of 16 before social media platforms can offer services to children. More than four in five respondents said the risks of social media outweigh the benefits for children, while 88 percent said fewer children would be exposed to inappropriate or harmful content if age restrictions were introduced. Ministers also point to evidence that many parents are simply exhausted by the battle over screen time. Three-quarters of respondents said restrictions would lead to fewer arguments at home, while 77 percent said schools and teachers would find it easier to manage children's digital behavior. The government said it intends to follow Australia's model by targeting user-to-user platforms whose primary purpose is social interaction and user-generated content. That would include services such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. The social media ban is only part of the package. Ministers also want to restrict a range of features they say expose children to harm, including stranger contact, explicit image sharing, livestreaming, and AI companion chatbots. Those restrictions would remain in force by default for 16 and 17-year-olds as well to avoid what ministers describe as a "cliff edge" when children turn 16. Ministers are also examining further measures for under-18s, including overnight social media curfews and mandatory breaks in infinite scrolling, with additional details expected in July. The government said it will seek to avoid some of the problems encountered in Australia by requiring what it describes as "highly effective age assurance" measures. Whether those systems prove any better at telling teenagers from adults remains unclear: recent age-verification trials have already produced examples of youngsters reportedly bypassing checks using little more than a drawn-on mustache. Ofcom, which will be responsible for enforcing much of the regime, signaled support for the government's plans. "So far, Ofcom has driven some of the strongest changes of any online safety regulation in the world, from widespread age checks to grooming protections for children," a spokesperson said. "But the industry needs to go much further to make people safe. The government has entrusted us to build on this progress with new measures to protect children, and we're ready to work closely with them as the detailed regulations take shape." But not everyone is convinced the government has found the right answer. James Baker, Platform Power and Freedom of Expression Programme Manager at the Open Rights Group, warned that lawmakers risk repeating a familiar pattern. "Every failed attempt to make children safer online is followed by more surveillance and censorship," he said. "Children have rights too and these policies will harm their free expression and privacy rights, and push them into less regulated spaces. Meanwhile the business models driving harms are untouched." Others questioned whether the measures can realistically be enforced. Mark Jones, an online harms specialist and partner at law firm Payne Hicks Beach, noted that the consultation closed only weeks ago and warned that determined teenagers have a habit of finding ways around restrictions. "A social media ban only helps if it is genuinely enforceable," Jones said. "If large numbers of young people simply circumvent the restrictions, parents will just lose visibility into where their children are actually spending time online rather than reclaiming any control." The political case for the crackdown appears relatively straightforward, but the practical one is less so. The government now has to persuade social media companies to enforce the rules and teenagers not to find ways around them. ®

De jacks bij de NOS zijn zo oranje, dat onze recensent de kleur blijft zien als ze haar ogen sluit. Ze ging ervan uit dat de duiding van het WK voetbal heel logisch was. Terecht?

Vanuit het zuiden van Israël, langs het zwaarbeveiligde hek rond de bezette Gazastrook, is de verwoesting van Gaza zichtbaar, net als de militaire bases die Israël daar bouwt. Vanaf uitzichtpunten kijken Israëliërs Gaza in. „Je wilt niet hard zijn, maar het moet.”

Philly sports fans have a reputation for being rough, and if you think this reputation is unearned, you should probably take a look at this: All 12 of the fans the dance cam just showed on the Jumbotron at the Phillies game were pissing into bottles. 

Yep, that’s not going to help their rep one bit. 

During a break in play during today’s home game against the Miami Marlins, the stadium’s cameraperson scanned the crowd for dancing fans to display on the Citizens Bank Park Jumbotron, but finding one who wasn’t actively pissing into something turned out to be an exercise in futility. A quick cut away from the first fan they’d found—a heavyset man cheering and dancing while blatantly urinating into a plastic Bud Lite bottle—only revealed yet another fan doing the same. 

After cutting away from more fans pissing into bottles, cans, and even a souvenir baseball helmet, the cameraperson, in a desperate attempt to locate a fan not actively urinating into something, honed in on a woman nursing a baby. Upon closer inspection, however, it turned out she was using a popcorn bag which appeared to still be half-filled with popcorn as a makeshift toilet. The disturbing 100-foot-wide display of debauchery ended with a young boy peeing into the straw of his soda cup followed by an elderly man who was just pissing directly onto a row of fans below him while waving to the camera. 

Ugh. Apparently this is not going to be the game that ends Philly sports fans’ standing as some of the most uncouth around. 

Hopefully these Phillies fans will have gotten all of their piss out by the next time the dance cam makes the rounds, but based on the fact that the camera just caught the actor inside the Phillie Phanatic costume holding a souvenir foam bat up to his crotch to soak up his piss, that seems unlikely. We love you, Philly sports fans, but some of y’all could really use some lessons in dignity.